South Dakota Instruction Permit Next Steps: Practice Hours, Hold Period & License Upgrade

Once you have your South Dakota instruction permit, your focus shifts to three parallel tasks: logging supervised practice hours, completing your hold period violation-free, and preparing for the upgrade appointment. Complete both before you can apply for a Restricted Minor's Permit. Download and print the official Supervised Driving Logimmediately and log every trip the same day it happens.

South Dakota Permit Holding Period and Supervised Driving Requirements

You must hold a South Dakota instruction permit for 275 continuous days without driver education, or 180 continuous days with an approved course. No traffic convictions are allowed in the final 6 months.

• Holding Period:275 days without driver's ed; 180 days with an approved course
• Supervised Practice:Minors must complete South Dakota's supervised-driving requirement before upgrading. Use the dedicated Required Practice Hours guide for the hour breakdown, conditions, and logging rules.
• Without approved driver education, an otherwise eligible teen may schedule the road test on day 276 or later.
• With an approved course, the teen may move to the permit-upgrade step on day 181 or later, and a qualifying certificate can waive the road test.

For the complete supervised-practice requirement and logging rules, use the dedicated Required Practice Hours guide.

What if I finish my 50 practice hours before the permit holding period ends?

You still have to finish the required holding period. For a driver under 18, the practice-hour requirement and the permit holding period are separate conditions, so completing 50 hours early does not move the upgrade date forward.

What if my holding period ends before I finish the 50 supervised hours?

You must finish the full 50 supervised hours before upgrading. South Dakota requires both the applicable holding period and the supervised-driving requirement for a minor permit holder. See the current teen-driver rules at sd.gov.

How to Build Strong Supervised Practice for the South Dakota Permit Upgrade

Use supervised practice to build experience across gravel roads, highways, and city traffic rather than repeating only familiar residential routes.

An Aberdeen teen failed their first road test for failing to check mirrors and blind spots when merging onto US-12. Their practice had been limited to quiet residential streets - the examiner noted unpreparedness for highway speeds. Schedule at least two practice runs at the specific DMV office where you will test, on the same streets the examiner uses.

How Do You Upgrade from a South Dakota Instruction Permit to a License?

Do I still need a road test after completing South Dakota driver's ed?

Not if you completed a qualifying state-approved driver-education course and the certificate is still valid for the testing waiver. South Dakota says an approved driver-ed certificate can waive the driving test; commercial online courses are not recognized for this benefit.

South Dakota Permit Upgrade Document Checklist

Bring your permit, the required application and minor/GDL paperwork, the Supervised Driving Affidavit for the 50-hour requirement, and your approved driver-ed certificate if you are using it for the waiver. Use the dedicated road-test documents page for the full checklist.

Without approved driver education, an otherwise eligible teen can schedule the road test on day 276 or later. With an approved course, the teen can start the permit-upgrade process on day 181 or later, and a qualifying certificate can waive the road test. A traffic conviction during the 6-month pre-upgrade window can delay eligibility.

• Complete 275 (or 180) day holding period with no traffic convictions in the 6-month period before applying. A traffic conviction during your 6-month pre-upgrade window will block your ability to apply for the Restricted Minor's Permit until that period clears.
• Complete the 50 supervised hours; use the official Supervised Driving Log to track them
• [YES] Without qualifying driver education, pass the road skills test; with a qualifying approved driver's ed certificate, the road test can be waived
• Download the notarized Parental Consent Formif a parent cannot be present at the upgrade appointment

For the full South Dakota permit upgrade process and GDL timeline, see the South Dakota Learner's Permit guide on shoro.ai.